Discretion
by defyingnormalcy
Summary: Andrea is caught admiring Sharon's blouse in 1.05 "Citizen's Arrest." Prompted by and written for Kayryn.


"Counselor?"

Andrea bit the inside of her lip and cursed inwardly as she felt all the blood rush towards her cheeks. She'd been caught, red-handed no less, ogling Sharon like she was a teenager with an uncontrollable crush.

"Andrea?"

Andrea took a measured breath before focusing her gaze on the softly smirking woman sitting across from her. She felt her hands tremor at the sound of her name passing Sharon's lips; butterflies swarmed her stomach as Sharon leaned forward, as that damn blouse opened up again to reveal a good deal of the soft, ivory skin of Sharon's breasts.

"Ah, yes Captain?" Andrea murmured. She silently prayed that the floor would open up beneath her and swallow her whole. Three years she'd managed to tame her attraction to the feisty brunette, three years she'd managed to be nothing but professional and friendly when dealing with the Captain. Three years of carefully concealing her unwavering interest; and all that effort and strict self-control, gone, as soon as Sharon had leaned forward as Andrea had passed the red file to her.

There was something welcoming and unexpected in the Captain's gaze. Andrea anticipated horror, disgust, shock, and righteous anger; instead, Sharon regarded her with a curious smile that seemed to reach all the way up to her sparkling green eyes.

"As I was saying –"

"Sharon, Buzz looked over my work and he said that I'm good for the night." Rusty poked his head in the door for a second time this afternoon as he announced his presence without any preamble.

Andrea silently apologized to any entity that would listen for every unkind thought that she'd ever voiced about teenagers.

"If you like you may use my laptop," Andrea interjected before Sharon could get a word in.

"Oh, uh sure. That's cool. Thanks, " Rusty said.

Andrea practically leapt out of her chair and grabbed her briefcase. "Here, I'll set it up for you," she offered hastily.

As she excused herself to follow Rusty to his designated work station, Sharon watched on amusedly.

XXX

The rest of the day had been a blur to Andrea; her role in apprehending one half of the kidnapping/murder team had occupied most of her day, and had exhausted her. With a noticeable slump in her shoulders, she walked back into the Major Crimes offices so that she could retrieve her laptop and charger. It was now well into the evening, all the desks in the murder room were now vacant and the white board had been cleared. She immediately spotted her items neatly arranged on Detective Sykes' desk with a note attached.

_Thanks for letting me borrow your laptop. It was way more interesting than re-reading Hamlet. _

_Rusty. _

She chuckled and folded the note before putting it, along with her returned items, into her briefcase. She was so absorbed in her task that she didn't notice that she was being observed from just a few feet away.

"That was very kind of you to let him borrow that. Thank you," Sharon's soft murmur made the hairs at the base of Andrea's neck prickle.

"He's a good kid," Andrea offered as she turned around to face her companion. She purposely averted her gaze from the low-cut silk of the blouse, and focused instead on Sharon's (no-less distracting, no-less appealing) eyes.

"He is," Sharon agreed. She took several steps forward so that she stood directly in front of Andrea. "Andrea, about earlier…" an amused smile tugged at her lips.

Andrea felt herself grow red again; she nervously tugged at her blazer and cleared her throat. "Please, Sharon…I…I'm very sorry if I made you uncomfortable. It won't happen again. I promise," she said. She felt her heart break a little at the realization that instead of causing the woman of her dreams to experience happiness, she'd caused her only discomfort.

"No, that's not it. I…I'm very flattered. Truly I am, if also a bit surprised." It was Sharon's turn to blush as she shrugged her shoulders and regarded Andrea carefully. "I didn't think that you were interested, I'd given up hope that you might be interested a long time ago," she admitted quietly.

Andrea's heart crashed against the walls of her chest over and over again as she took in Sharon's confession. "Oh, well, I don't know why you'd be surprised. I don't think that I've hidden it very well. You're a very beautiful woman Sharon, and…well…I am interested and I have been for a while. That is…if you are too…"

"The thing is, my life has become increasingly complicated in the last few weeks," Sharon said sadly, "and I don't know that I could give…this…a proper chance right now."

Andrea nodded her understanding. "I get it, I do. Rusty has to be your priority right now; he's a special case."

"Yes," Sharon said sadly, "but it doesn't mean that I want to give this a chance any less. Perhaps we…perhaps we could approach things slowly?"

Andrea licked her lips nervously. "Slow is good. I can do slow."

Sharon took another step forward and smiled warmly at the blonde. Andrea was incredibly endearing when she was nervous; she wanted so badly to kiss away the slight trembling in the blonde's full lower lip, to soothe away the creases of doubt that lined her forehead.

Andrea gathered her courage. "Would you like to have dinner sometime this week? Nothing too fancy, just, causal?"

"I'd love that. Can I get back to you on the date? It really depends on-"

"Of course. Any day, I'm happy to have dinner with you any day. Just call me as soon as you know, even if it's last minute, and I'll make arrangements. Even if you need to bring Rusty with you as well," Andrea said, completely unable to hide her glee.

Sharon beamed at Andrea's enthusiasm. "Well, I'm glad that's settled then. I will definitely give you a call one evening when things look a little calmer. Have a good evening Counselor," Sharon said as she turned on her heel to return to her office.

Andrea felt as though she was walking on clouds as she made her way back to the elevator. Sharon's responding smile to her dinner invitation had made Andrea weak in the knees; what she'd give to be the cause of that smile each and every day.

As Andrea stepped out into the chilly evening air, she resolved that, yes, she _would _be the cause of that luminous smile every day; she'd gladly spend the rest of her days making sure of it.


End file.
